In its hunt for savings, the Australian Government is “seriously considering” a proposal to tighten the assets test for retirees, shaving hundred of millions off the ballooning cost of the pension system.

At the moment, retired couples who own their home, and with other assets up to $1.1 million still qualify for a part pension, a position many consider untenable. The Social Services Minister Scott Morrison has strongly indicated he will look at scaling back access to the pension for wealthy Australians as an alternative to the Government’s current plan to change the rate of indexation.

In the backflip – the government pledged, via last years budget, to decouple pension rises from the ‘average (male) earnings’, instead linking them to the rate of inflation, saving the government almost $450 million a year – cutting into pension payments by as much as $80 a week – might get the boot?

Social Services Minister Scott Morrison said last week that he wanted “modest, incremental change” to the pension system, though he is still standing by last year’s budget measure and an attempt to raise the pension age to 70 – which has also stalled in the Senate :: Read the full article »»»»